Richard Miller
Many ailments and diseases appear to have interrelated and fundamental ageing processes at their foundation. Cellular senescence is one such mechanism, which involves a cell cycle stop in response to harmful stimuli. Senescent cells can appear at any time during life and, due to the numerous proteins they secrete, can have detrimental impacts on tissue function if they are persistent. Interventions against persistent senescent cells that destroy tissue have been proven in preclinical models to postpone, stop, or even reverse a variety of diseases. Accordingly, the development of small-molecule senolytic medicines that specifically eliminate senescent cells has resulted in potential methods for the prevention or treatment of a variety of diseases and age-related problems in people. In this Review, we explain the rationale for using senescent cells as a therapeutic target for diseases affecting people of all ages and talk about the most promising methods for putting small-molecule senolytics and other senescence-targeting interventions into clinical practise, including recent and ongoing clinical trials.